Lucius Annaeus Seneca's biography

Lucius Annaeus Seneca was born approximately in 4 to A. D. in flowering trade city Kordov. As early as babyhood a father removes him to Rome, where a boy gets education at first for the own father - famous rhetorician Mark Annaeus Seneca, and then for the famous Roman teachers, such as a stoic Attal, cynic of Demetrius, eclectic Fabian Pahshrius and Pythagorean Sotionus. Exactly from the teachers Seneca gathered those moral rules that he was faithful right through life.

It is known that Seneca’s youth, under influence upon father, passed in educating to advocate trade and on this walk of life due to the brilliant and witty speeches he extracted to himself the kind name and fame. After a while Seneca gets the place of quaestor - assistant consular and manager by financial questions.

Due to his talents and also, in a considerable measure, father’s wealth (who by that time died) Seneca publicly a meaningful figure and appears at emperor's court.

On that moment the Roman emperor was Caligula, not fully normal man, in the number of oddities of him was pathological envy to talents other.

Caligula, feeling sharp envy to Seneca’s brilliant oratorical trade, orders to kill him, however a philosopher is rescued by one of concubines of emperor, that persuades to leave him alone, alluding to that Seneca is so sick and weak, and will die soon. However, before long Caligula perishes from the hands of conspirators.

After this case Seneca abandons advocate activity and completely indulges in study philosophy. Approximately at this time he makes his first, coming up to us, philosophical treatise «About anger».

In the first years of rule Claudius’s emperor, Seneca takes part in one of palace love affairs, for what him in 41 of A. D. banish from Rome on an island Corsica. There he creates a few works among that «Message to Gelvia» and «Program of naturalistic questions».

After 8 years of banishment, due to intercession of emperor’s Claudius wife Agripina, Seneca returns to Rome and becomes the tutor of emperor’s son - minor Neron. Exactly Neron becomes an emperor after poisoning of Claudius. And Seneca is appointed by one of two first advisers. Second adviser – Sekst Afranius Burr.

In 57 of A. D. Seneca gets consulship - from some data highest position in an empire. Also, in this period the Seneca’s financial state amount to an apogee. On different estimations it makes more than 300 million Roman sestercius. The source of such riches serve as Neron’s generous presents.

One of dark patches in biography and on Seneca’s conscience there is his implicit agreement on murder of emperor’s mother Agripina, the same woman that once assisted the return of philosopher from Corsican banishment. Moreover, he is the author of excusatory slanderous letter for Neron that he sent after murder in a senate. A letter contained false information about Agripina’s suicide and her intentions to kill an emperor.

In 61 year dies Sekst Afranius Burr (there is supposition that he was poisoned) and Seneca gives suing for retirement, that Neron satisfies.

Being at rest a philosopher conducts the very modest way of life. Over the years he writes the great number of messages to his friends, different treatises on questions of natural science and morality.

Moderation and morality of Seneca’s life in time begin to anger Neron that sees in all of it mute reproach to his life’s way and an emperor makes decision to kill the former tutor. Availing as a pretext one of denunciations of Seneca’s envious persons, an emperor gives order to accomplish suicide to the philosopher, that he carried out in April, 65 year our era, cutting to himself veins.